Heating appliances such as stoves, ovens, grills, fryers, and the like should be monitored regularly when in use. Forgetting about a heating appliance may result in an over cooked meal. However, an overcooked meal may be a minor concern when compared with the potential safety hazard caused by leaving a heating appliance unattended. This is because items left on the stove, oven, grill, fryer, and the like may overheat, resulting in the production of smoke and fire. In such a situation, a standard fire alarm may not alert a user until after flames have already ignited. This is because fire alarms typically sense the presence of smoke, which is an immediate precursor to a fire. As a result, heating appliances can be extremely dangerous to an unwary and forgetful user.
Thus, a device and method for alerting a user when a heating appliance is on and left unattended would be well received in the art.